Joining Forces
by Professor Mech
Summary: Julie needs her car back. Jack needs to arrest the top dog on the Blacklist. Opposite sides of the force are working to one main goal, but something more could always come.


It was eerily silent. Not a single person spoke while Ghost and Julie stared each other down. Julie's Lotus Elise was a shoe in to win. Ghost knew that, so he left Julie a small "gift" for the race, for he knew, if he lost this race, he'd also be losing his ride, and he loved his Caddilac CTS way too much to risk it.

He doesn't even know how he got into this situation. He knew that if he lost, he'd no longer be the top dog on the Blacklist. But that wasn't what he was worried about. It was the fact that he was losing to a girl. Not just any girl, but this girl. He'd be fine if he lost to Princess, hell even if Jazz made her way up, he'd be fine. But just not Julie.

He had no prior history with this girl. He wasn't even able to know her actual first name until she decided to stop using her tag when she beat Princess. All he knew is that the girl had the will and way to win, and he knew she was coming for him. What bothers him is the fact that somebody cleared out the entire Blacklist so fast. It's only been two months, and here he is, looking at the Lotus that was a shoe in to his defeat. He couldn't stand it.

"Alright." Princess said, holding a stack of bills. "Winner gets a hundred g's plus the opposing car. You know how it goes, you rev when you're ready, and when the flag drops, you go, then you're on your own." She held up a white flag, then dropped it, giving them an idea of how fast it'll happen.

"Both cars are GPS tracked, and are fitted with cameras to show your progress. It's the well-known and infamous Heritage and Diamond route, so we'll meet you guys at the end." Both drivers nodded as Princess told them to get into their cars, along with all the other spectators who were there to watch the #1 Blacklist member go down.

Once both drivers were secured in their cars, Princess walked over to Julie's car. "Hey, be careful. Ghost isn't ready to go down so quick, and nobody knows what happened to him last night. Just know that after the flag drops, whatever happens, happens. Intentional or not." Julie said nothing, only nodded and handed over the pink slip to her car. She was ready for anything.

Princess collected the pink slip from Ghost, giving him a weary look, almost knowing that he did something to Julie's car. There was nothing much she could do at this point, she could only start the race.

She pointed at Julie's car. A "ready" rev was heard.

She pointed at Ghost's car. A "ready" rev was heard.

The flag was dropped and Julie got a slight jump on Ghost as they shot past the donut shop on their way to the finish line.

Princess ran over to the car of Mr. Mech, who looked to be analyzing the road in great detail.

"What's wrong babe?" She asked, trying to follow his vision path.

"Look where Julie started. There's no way that was there before she parked over it." Princess did as Mech said, looking around the area where Julie parked. There was a black puddle in the middle of the road. Her boyfriend was right, there was a zero percent chance that it was there before she got there.

"It's oil." Mech confirmed. "Ghost got under her car. I'm not sure when, but it had to be right before the race started, because she wouldn't have gotten here if he did it last night."

"What should we do?" Princess asked, partially sad that Julie had to go out this way, yet angry that Ghost would resort to something like this.

"Call a tow truck to pick up Ghost's new car. Get Julie's camera up, we're gonna go pick her up." He said, starting his Nissan and driving towards Highway 99.

Julie sped through the backstreet of a strip mall, barely missing the dumpster that made it a risky move. She was lucky that her car was small enough to where she didn't have to worry much. She checked her mirror, Ghost was far enough behind that she could breathe. She cut through the empty parking lot to get around the first of two 90 degree turns better, using the added speed to try to gain an extra advantage.

She needed all she could get before they hit the highway, Ghost's Caddilac had the upper hand on top speed, and they both knew it, which is why he's taking it so easy on the streets.

Julie took the small jump that went under the overpass, powersliding onto the highway, then slamming her foot to the floor, trying to get every horsepower this little Lotus could muster.

Then she heard a noise. To her, it sounded like metal grinding. The only parts that could make that sound were the cylinders, which had to have meant she was out of oil. She couldn't worry about it now, she needed this race. But the sounds continued, and became more noticeable.

That's when the engine completely imploded. The car shut down and dropped speed fast.

Julie panicked. It was way too soon. She couldn't lose her car yet. She tried to restart it with no luck. She started to pump the gas, shift into every gear, turn on air conditioning, but nothing worked. It was over. And the icing on the cake? Ghost blew by her going full speed. There was nothing she could do but try to get it to a shoulder.

She got out of her car and practically ripped open the bonnet, being greeted with a plume of smoke. She was right, the engine seized, and there was only one reason it could've did that. She checked the dipstick, and much to her lack of surprise, it was bone dry. She had no one to blame but herself, she forgot to put oil in her car, she lost her car to her own stupidity.

She sat on the hood, beginning to cry. It wasn't about the race anymore. That car was her legacy. She got it from a high-stakes bet that she won on luck, and built it from there. The fact that she made it as far as she did was mostly due to her car. She'd just lost all joy and pride she had. It was over for her.

As she cried, Mr. Mech and Kiara pulled up behind her. Mech was the first to approach her.

"It wasn't your fault." He said, not trying to console her, but trying to tell her the truth.

"Yes, it was." She responded between breaths. "I forgot to put oil in the car and it blew up and—"

"No, really, it wasn't your fault." Mech responded. "Somebody, most likely Ghost, sabotaged you. There was a huge oil slick left from under your car."

"We knew your car was dry when you brought it to us. You know we do engine checks before Blacklist races start. We filled it up before the race." Princess said. "The only thing is, we usually use Ghost's lackeys to help us check the cars quicker, so one of them must have did it."

Julie was angry now. She had to get back at him now, but how? She had no car, and her money all went to Ghost, so she was back to nothing.

The trio sat in silence until a tow truck appeared, taking Ghost's new car to his safehouse, leaving the three to Mech's 300ZX. Julie finally spoke up.

"Guys, I have to get my car back. I'm not sure how, but I will. But I'm gonna disappear for a while. I'm gonna need to get a job so that I can pay for my apartment and everything. I'll be back."

"Alright." Mech said. He ran to his car to grab a business card out of his glovebox. "Take this for when you do come back. He can get you started with a great car."

Julie looked it over. It was the address of an abandoned parking structure, used by a guy named Masa Tsuchiya. She stuck it under her bra strap, just so she knew she had it.

"Oh yeah, one more thing." Mech added.

"What's that?" Julie asked.

"When you hit number four and three on the blacklist, we ain't going easy."


End file.
